Protests in more than a dozen cities planned for Kalamazoo River oil spill anniversary

KALAMAZOO, MI – Environmental
activist groups are planning a series of protests against the transportation of tar sands oil across
the U.S. and Canada starting this week, timed to coincide with the two-year anniversary
of the Kalamazoo River oil spill.

A group called We Are The Kalamazoo – organized by a
coalition environmental nonprofits including the National Resources Defense
Council, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation and 350.org – is planning a
Kalamazoo River Walk as well as a protest at the state Capitol as part of a network of events scheduled to take place throughout the U.S. and Canada.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the group is scheduled to hold a protest
march outside the Capitol and hold a press conference inside the building's rotunda. They are planning to dress in black clothing to reinforce a "human oil spill" theme. Participants also plan to meet with state lawmakers, according to a press release.

On July 25, the group plans to hold another protest along
the Kalamazoo River in Marshall near where the pipeline ruptured. An exact location
has yet to be decided.

The river walk is one of more than a dozen scheduled
protests throughout the U.S. and Canada, most of which plan to use the
Enbridge spill to underscore the dangers of transporting tar sands oil. In Toronto, Ontario, volunteers
will share the story of the Kalamazoo River spill to pedestrians on the street, according to an event schedule on the group's
website. In Seattle, Wash., similar protests are planned to keep tar sands oil
transportation out of Puget Sound.

"It is something that people nationally are watching," said
NRDC spokesman Josh Mogerman said. "They need to know what the liabilities are
for those sorts of things, and the Kalamazoo River spill makes that clear."

The use of tar sands oil, a type of unrefined petroleum that
spilled into the Kalamazoo River when the Enbridge pipeline ruptured July 26, 2010, is somewhat controversial. Some
environmental activists claim it is more damaging to ecosystems if spilled, because it is
more difficult for crews to clean up.

We Are The Kalamazoo claims the substance is more dangerous
than other kinds of oil because of the higher pressures required to move it though
pipelines and the fact that it sinks in water, making it nearly impossible to
skim off.

Others dispute such claims, and argue extracting more North
American oil is a beneficial economic opportunity. During remarks made at the
Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce on Monday, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said he
expects the construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would create as
many as 100,000 jobs.

The protest group is also speaking out against Enbridge's new pipeline designed to replace the one that ruptured. The new pipe is planned to be both wider and operate at a higher pressure.

The company has said the new pipeline will prevent future environment risks.